Android Wiki: A List of Most Used Terms

This Android wiki page lists short definition of popular terms which many new Android users might not know. I’m going to update this page regularly. Please help with term suggestion or report wrong information of a term in the comment section below.

Android OS. Android is a mobile operating system currently developed by Google. It is based on the Linux kernel and designed mainly for smartphones and tablets. (See our homepage for a list of its names and features.)

Android Studio. Android Studio, developed by Google is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android platform development. It is available for download on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

F

Factory Reset. Factory Resetremoves all user’s data and restores the device back to factory settings. By performing a factory data reset, all data — like your apps, photos, and music — will be wiped from the device.

L

Launcher. The launcher often consists of homescreens and app drawer which come in different designs. it helps change the entire layout of an Android device. Some of the famous launchers are ADW Launcher, Launcher Pro, Hola Launcher and Go Launcher.

R

Rooting. Rooting is the process of allowing users of Android devices to attain privileged control which is also called root access or superuser permission. It helps overcome limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on some devices by allows owner to access and custom every functions of the Android OS.

S

SQLite. SQLite is an opensource SQL database which stores data under a text file. It is implemented by default in Android. SQLite supports all the relational database features.

Superuser. Superuser is created as a result of rooting an Android device. It is an account with complete administrative permissions and is required to access some hidden features.

X

Xposed Framework. It is an app which can only be installed on a rooted Android device and provides many features of a custom ROM on stock Android.